Sharon Kotula

Well, a minor setback in my move-in plans for the showroom....

Landlord told us that there was a layer of carpet, then pad that wasn't glued down on the concrete, so we were going to stain it. Turns out, there were TWO layers of carpet, and pad - which was fastened with an industrial adhesive at EVERY SQUARE INCH! UGH!

Now that we've paid a crew to go in and scrape the floor in 3" wide strips at a time, the floor is certainly not stainable. Plan B? ARIZONA CUSTOM CONCRETE! They are going to lay a "Decorative Concrete Overlay" on top of the existing concrete - it's a lot more affordable than I thought it would be! It won't scratch or peel like epoxies can. It's going to be AWESOME!!! I've taken "before" pictures - I'll post "After" when it's done....or a few days later.

We are headed to Carefree Resort Villas for the holiday weekend - have a safe and happy 4th!

Sharon Kotula
Argent Decor
Phoenix Vacation Home Furnishing & Home Staging Services
www.ArgentDecor.com
Sharon@ArgentDecor.com
602-774-2294 Showroom

OPENING JULY '09 - "ARGENT DECOR - THE STORE" IN OLD TOWN SCOTTSDALE!

Effective June 29th, 2009, Argent Decor has a new number - 602-774-2294. I am keeping my "Magic Jack" phone system, as it cost me the equivalent of 1.5 months of service - with less features - from Qwest. My "expenses" on Magic Jack include buying a corded phone, too. So Qwest can keep their ridiculously over-priced phone service!

The new phone number will ring to the store, and until it opens, will ring to my desk.

THANKS and don't forget to update your files!

Sharon Kotula
Argent Decor
Phoenix Vacation Home Furnishing & Scottsdale Furniture & Decor Store
www.ArgentDecor.com
sharon@argentdecor.com

With "Argent Decor - the Store" opening in July, I am beefing up with furniture vendors!

I found this great one out of LA - Sweet Smiling Home. Odd name? Yes. Unusual furniture? Also, yes. Check out their website - they have some really unique lines, as well as many green/recycled furniture pieces, from China, Indonesia, Morocco, and India.

Naturally, I get wholesale pricing, so if you see anything you like, just let me know....

Sharon Kotula
Argent Decor
Phoenix Vacation Home Furnishing
www.ArgentDecor.com
Sharon@argentdecor.com

Potentially great news here!

I submitted an application with photos of my work and some of my design philosophies to Kirkland's, as they were looking for a Designer Panel - here's the e-mail I just received!:

First of all, congratulations! Out of more than 100 applicants, you have been selected as a finalist for our new designer panel!

From here, our goal is to narrow our list of finalists to a field of 10 by the end of next week. These 10 will then be voted on by our customers through the community site we are developing, giving our customer the opportunity to select from whom they want to receive their design tips and tricks.

As you remember from the submissions page profile, we have quite a few perks for our featured designers in exchange for your contributions to our community site.

If chosen you will receive perks and benefits, such as:

· Publicity and awareness through Kirkland's marketing programs.

· National exposure to millions of Kirkland's customers.

· Samples of new products for your review.

• Client referrals in your area with geographic exclusivity.

As a Kirkland's featured designer all these perks and benefits are yours in exchange for:


· Your contribution to design related articles to the Kirkland's community site.

· Your interaction with Kirkland's customers within the community site.

· Your opinions about select Kirkland's products.

• Personal appearances at local Kirkland's stores.

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So, now I have to do a phone interview next week - I'm nervous now! It would be a great opportunity for me, so fingers crossed!

BTW - I did drop some dollars at their Mesa store yesterday....they are having AWESOME sales right now if you need anything!

Sharon Kotula
Argent Decor
Phoenix Vacation Home Furnishing & Home Staging Services
www.ArgentDecor.com
sharon@argentdecor.com

What can I say...? I'm a sucker for info-mercials!

Have you seen - or tried - Magic Jack yet? It's basically a $40 USB set up that allows you to call long distance, internationally, etc, unlimited, for free your first year. You plug a jobby into your USB, and a phone into your jobby. It includes free voice mail, call waiting, caller ID too! After learning those greedy guys down at Qwest wanted $60mo for a phone line - when I get the same services from Cox at home for $28/mo - I decided to look at alternates. Unfortunately, my new building is not Cox-compatible. :(

My Magic Jack came today; I haven't set it up yet. Looking over the website, I've already learned some bad news - land lines can not be converted to Magic Jack numbers - or, no number portability. The number will not show up in any type of directory assistance, also bad if you have a business (like me).

Since I ordered from the website, I have a 30 day free trial - so who has feedback? I want to hear it all!

THANKS
Sharon Kotula
Argent Decor
Phoenix Vacation Home Furnishing & Home Staging Services
www.ArgentDecor.com
sharon@argentdecor.com